Republic of Hawaii - Dissolution of The Republic

Dissolution of The Republic

Upon the inauguration of William McKinley as president of the United States on March 4, 1897, the Republic of Hawaii resumed negotiations for annexation, which continued into the summer of 1898. By this time, the President saw the islands as having gained a new strategic relevance in the wake of the Spanish-American War and that Britain, France and Japan had shown interest in annexing the islands for themselves. On June 16 of that year, a new treaty of annexation was signed. As the Senate appeared uncertain to ratify the treaty, its supporters took extreme measures by passing the Newlands Resolution through which the cession was accepted, ratified and confirmed by a vote of 42 to 21. The House of Representatives accepted the Newlands Resolution by a vote of 209 to 91. McKinley signed the bill on July 7, 1898. The formal claim of transfer of sovereignty took place on August 12, 1898 with the hoisting of the flag of the United States over Iolani Palace. No legal evidence or precedence of international law has codified this claim of a seizure of an independent neutral country. The United States asserts the right to claim any nation by a legislative process of the American Congress and its plenary powers.